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Originally Posted by seretogis
Minimum wage is just that -- a minimum. It is not intended to be able to raise a family of four on 40 hours a week at minimum wage. The minimum wage is NOT a "living wage" and shouldn't be.
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True but companies are taking advantage of it and are paying as close to it as possible and ARE NOT paying liveable wages. That's the whole point.
What we need to look at and what people on here who believe it is the workers fault and not the companies totally miss, why are we sending our jobs and money at record paces to countries that hate us while we allow and seemingly don't give a damn that, our citizens are finding jobs that keep them near or in poverty?
Why do these great GOPer's who hate China and believe China to be evil, who talk of China having one goal and that is to destroy us, and yet we send millions of dollars over there, and jobs and refuse to tariff their goods as they tariff ours? Why is that?
No, I don't believe someone who works 40 hours at McDonald's should own a Mercedes and live in luxury, but I don't believe they should be paid to barely afford rent, food and common luxuries that people need to maintain good mental health.
It is my contention that if give people respect and pay them an honest liveable wage that they will work harder and that they will advance on their own. However we are not seeing that. What we are seeing are companies paying as low a wage as possible, not giving more than 35 hours (because in Ohio 35 hours/ week for 3 months means f/t and the company has to offer benefits).
These articles (and I believe they are customary for ALL states) just talk about the 20% of workers in poverty, what about those that are just barely above that level, what are those numbers that make above poverty but not statistically liveable wages? (Liveable wages (to me) = being able to afford rent/ house payments, insurance, a car and its upkeep, utilities, food and entertainment and be able to have some form of savings.)
Who pays the medical bills when they can't? Who pays for the loans and the bills they stiff because they can't pay? Who's going to pay for them when they are to old to work?
You cut the tax base this badly and the "rich" will have to swallow all these expenses. It's not because the workers didn't try, it wasn't because the workers didn't work hard enough (and I challenge anyone in here who believes McDonald's or Wal*Mart to be easy work to work there for those wages for a week and truly say they were paid what they deserved).
By outsourcing jobs and allowing companies to take manufacturing overseas you cut 2 massive tax bases that don't ever come back. You cut the factory taxes and you cut decently paid employees taxes. What you get in return are sales taxes and very very low income taxes if any, in their place. Who makes up for those lost taxes, the government keeps cutting and we keep downwardly spiralling.
There are those that claim "we are moving beyond manufacturing jobs", 3 problems with that:
1) who is making the goods then and what are we exporting (as of right now the trade deficit is far far greater than the income).
2) how do we educate for these new jobs when the tax base has been eroded and we can't afford to finance public schools?
3) we are not increasing any true wage job growth, in fact we are increasing wage job loss (meaning as better paying jobs leave we get less paying jobs with fewer benefits in their place)
There is a reason lawsuits have increased, you work hard you are not advancing someone does something you see a rainbow out and sue. No, it's not right, no I truly believe people do not want to by nature do that, BUT it offers a way out for them.
There's a reason workplace violence, addiction, crime and poverty keep increasing and it is because when you do not pay liveable wages (in a society like ours where money pretty much dictates who you are to many people) you see a cycle occur. A cycle where people will first try to get out, then people accept their reality and lose their aspirations and dreams, then people become envious, then people become violent, then their children see this and repeat this formula, only the children have no aspirations and dreams.
You either accept the fact that ALL people deserve respect and honest liveable wages or you accept the fact that YOU will pay for those who you refused to respect. And if you think you won't have to pay..... elections are still held, and if they keep failing and poverty keeps increasing then other ways will come to surface.